Treadle-shifting and door-operating mechanism for automatic player-pianos.



, G. M. RUSSELL.

TREADLE SHIFTING AND DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLICATION) FILED IUNE 2.1914.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

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G. M. RUSSELL.

TREADLE SHIFTING AND DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2.19M-

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

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GUYV M. RUSSELL, OE ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR To AMERICAN. PIANO OOM.-

' RANY, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OE NEW JERSEY.

TREADLE-SHIFTING AND DOOR-OPERATING MEoHANIsM ROR AUTOMATIC PLAYER- PIANOS. v-

Applicationgfiled June 2, 1914. Serial No. 842,499.

T 0` all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GUY, M. RUSSELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rochester, county of Monroe, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Treadle-Shifting and Door-Operating, Mechanism` for Automatic Player- Pianos, of which the following description, in connection with. the accompanying, drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to foot-power player-,pianos and the like, and pertains more particularly toapparatusfor moving the pumping `treadles into and out of operative position, the mechanism for this purpose being combined, if desired, with means for opening and closing a door in the bottom of the instrument through which the treadles are moved into and out of operative position.

Among other objects, the invention is intended to provide a convenient means for governing the movement of the treadles and also, if desired, to provide coperating means for moving the treadles and the door.

The invention may be readily understood by reference to one illustrative embodiment Shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: y Figure 1 is a front elevation of playing treadles with a portion of the base of a player-piano or the like;

Fig. 2 is a detached detail of certain parts shown in Fig. 1;

F igs.-3 and 4 aredetached details showing parts of theV operating mechanism in different positions;

Figs. 5 and 6 are both sections'of Fig. l; and, respective figures show different positions of the treadles. Y

The treadles 7 7, are hinged to a treadle support 8'which may be provided with feet 9 preferably having rubber treads.4 The treadles are provided with pivoted thrust bars 10 by which they are connected With a pitman 11 for operating the pumps or feeder bellows which are unnecessary to be shown. y

The treadle support 8 is secured to rocking arms 15, 15, fixed to, or conveniently made integral with, coaxial shafts 16,16, journaled in any suitable manner inside the base of the player. The treadles are swung Specification of Letters Patent.

intol and out of operative position upon the shafts 16. The operative position, z'. e. when the treadleis 1n position to be operated for Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

pumping, is shown in Fig. 6 and the inoperative position, z'. e. when the treadles are retreated into the base of the'player, is shown in Fig.r5. v

The bottom panel which incloses the base of the player, is shown at 18 and the keybed for the player is shown at 19.

A door-way 2O in the panel 1S permits the treadles and connected parts to be swung from within the base of the player to the operative position and backagain.` It is preferred that when the treadles are in operative position the door-way in the panel 20 shall be closed, and for this purpose a door 22 is provided. The ldoor 22 has eyepieces'23,'23, slidably mounted upon a `shaft 24 which is fixed in brackets 25, 25,` secured to the panel 18,-the door 22 sliding lengthwise the shaft, 24 to close and open the doorway 20.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention comprises a single actuator, shown as a hand lever under the key-bed, for performing the two 'oflices ,of movingV the treadles intov and out of operative position, and also opening land closing the door 22 atv appropriate times. Itis not indispensable that these two operations be controlled by a vsingle means. The specic means for moving` the treadlesV will be first described.

the rod 31 vertically, thecrank arm'30 is rocked and thereby the shaft 16 is yrocked to v i move the'treadles.

Fixed uponthe rod 31 are two fingers 33,

34, Aby which' the rod is vertically`recipro p ca-ted. A lug' 36 is adapted to be inserted between the fingers 33and 34 'atfappropriate times in order to reciprocate the rod 31, lthis lug 36 being` mounted upon a crank arm 37 which is fixed to a hand-operatedv shaft 38. As shown in Figs.- fand 6, the shaft38 is journaled in brackets fixed upon thebottom of the key-bed and at a point within easy reach of an operator seated at the instrument the shaft 38 is provided wit-h a handle 39 by which to rock the shaft.

When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1 the treadles 7, 7, are in the operative position shown in Fig. 6.

the position shown in Fig. 1, the lug 86, acting upon the finger 34, will force the rod 31 downwardly and will thereby rock the crank armw()k in a contraclockwise direction, as

shown in Fig. 6, thereby moving lthe treadles Athe treadles from inoperative to operative position. l n

To relieve the operato-r from the necessity to exert the full amount of force upon the handle 39, which may be necessary to move the treadles back and forth, an arrangement of springs'v is shown in thev accompanying drawings which materially assist the movement of the treadles. A, spring 10` (Figs. 5 andy 6) is secured at one endto a bracket al fixed upon the base of the player, and at its other end to a crank arm 42 fixed upon the shaft 16. The spring 40 is solocated and is of such length, that it exerts no material pull upon its arm 42 of the shaft 16, Vwhen the parts occupy the position shown in Fig. 5. As the treadles are movedoutwardly, however, (clockwise in Fig. 5) the spring 40 begins to be tensioned vfrom the time itsarm i2 is substantially horizontal, andv is thereafter increasingly tensio-ned until the `arm12 reaches the substantially vertical position shown in. Fig. G. The spring l0 is preferably so adjusted that this increasing tension substantially balances the increasing effective weight of the treadles as they move outwardly from the position in which their center ofA gravity .is substantially vertically aboveth'e shaft 16 upon which they rotate. In' other words, the weight of the treadles and their immediately Yconnected parts, is supported practically entirely by the increasing tension of the spring 4:0, during the time the' treadles are moved toward the operative position, from the intermediate position in Ywhich their center of gravity' is above the shaft 16; therefore, the only force necessary tobe exerted byV the operator upon the handle 39 is that force which 'is necessary merely to overcome the balance between the spring 40 and the weight of the treadles and other parts, and force the treadles into the y lf the handle 39 be rocked in a clockwise direction from position shown in Fig. G. Likewise, in moving the Ytreadles from the position shown in Fig. 6 back into the base of the player (the spring 40 being thenl tensioned to balance the maximum effective weight of the treadles andother parts) it is only necessary forf the operator to apply a slight force to the handle 39 and thereby assist the spring ,LO to return the treadles toward inoperative position;

A second spring 50 (at the left in Fig. 1) has its upper end secured to a stationary bracket 51 mounted on the frame of the player and its other end secured to a crank arm 52 fixed upon the shaft 16' and preferably alined with the crank arm 42 for the spring 110. lVhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 6 the arm 52 is substantially vertical and the spring 50 is so far relaxed as'to exert no material pull upon the arm 52; and the spring 50 is preferably so adjusted that it does not exert any substantial pull uponits arm 52, as the latter moves contraclockwise in Fig. 6, until the treadles have reached and passed the positionV in which their center of gravity stands above the shaft 16. i Thereafter, however, in moving the treadles ytoward the position shown in Fig. 5, the arm 52 increasingly tensions the spring 50 so that the increasing effective weight of the treadles toward the endr 0f its retreating movement, is substantially balanced by thel spring 50. When the parts come to rest in the position of Fig. 5, the

spring 50 is tensioned, preferably to an extent sutficient substantially to balance the weight of the treadles 7 and other parts; and therefore the operator need exert only enough force upon the handle 39 to assist the spring 50 to move the Atreadles 7 and the other parts outwardly' until the spring 4() begins to be tensioned, whereupon the handle 37 is moved, as already explained, with only enouO'h force to assist 0fravit r in movin@ the C 2D C treadles, against the increasing tension of the spring l0 into the position shown in Fig. 6.

any precise balancing relations between the effective weights in different positionsof the treadles 7, and the opposingv tensions of the springs 40 and 50. `Various adjustments Yor arrangements of these springs or their equivalents would serve to assist in the movement of` the treadles without necessarily producing any substantial balancing effect, although, as will be evident to those skilled in the art, an approximate balancing is desir,- able. Y

` Besides assisting` the operator inmoving the treadles back and forth, the springs may (and do in fact in the illustrative embodiment) desirably cushion and retard "the movement of the treadles so as to avoid their dropping abruptly into one position or the other.

Obviously. it is not essential that there be f For the purposes of the specific arrangeu ment shown in the drawings, it is desirable to utilizethe same handle 39 for closing the door 22 after the treadles have been retreated into the position shown in Fig. 5.- For this purpose the shaft 38 is provided with a crank arm 60 connected by a bent link 62 with a lever 63 fulcrumed at 64 to a bracket on the bottom of the key'bed. The lower end of the lever 63 is pivoted at 66 to a link 67 secured (at its lefty hand end in Fig. l) to a bracket 68 fastened upon'the inner face of the door 22. Vhen the lever 63 isrocked to the left in Fig. 1, the door 22 slides to the left on its supporting shaft LHand closes the door-way'20.

Vhen Vthe treadles 7 are in the operative position shown in Fig. 6, their pump-operating links 10 extend `through the doorway 20; hence at such times the door is desired to remain open. `Likewise the door is preferred to remain open until the treadles have been sufficiently retreated into the interior of the base to avoid interference with the closing door. This is provided for by the illustrative means for closing the door by the handle 39.

lVhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the door 22 stands wide open and the treadles stand in the operative position of Fig. 6. The handle 39 being then moved clockwise, the bar 31 is forced downwardly to rock the treadles toward inoperative position. This downward vmovement of the rod 31 begins immediately the handle 39 is moved clockwise, but the door closing crank arm 60 is so positioned on the shaft 38 that during the first part of the movement of the handle 39 and the retreating movement of the treadles, the lever 63 is not materially moved. lVhen, however, the rod 31 has been moved downwardly far enough to substantially complete theretreating movement of the treadles, the lever 63 begins to move clockwise in Fig. 1 to start the closing of the door 22. During this treadle retreating and door closing movement, the door preferably has the latter part of its movement after the retreated treadles have substantially come to rest. Therefore, the parts are so arranged, as shown in Fig. 4, that, when the rod 31 has positively thrown the treadles beyond the position where their center of gravity stands above the shaft 60, the lug 36 on the treadle operating crank arm 37, passes out of engagement with the finger 31, whereupon the shaft 38 maybe moved still farther to rock the parts to the position shown in Fig. 3, wherein the door 22 is completely closed to cover the treadles and restore the finished panel appearance of the base panel 18.

On the door-opening and treadle-advancing movement. the handle 39 is rocked contraclockwise from the position shown in Fig. 3 thereby starting to open the door and at least partially completing that opening, before jthe lug 36 engages the finger 33 to start the treadle-advancing movement. Thus the door is got out of the way to permit the treadles to be thrown out through the doorway 2O during the latter part of the contraclockwise movement of the handle 39.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, it is oftentimes desirable to remove the base panel 1,8 to permit inspection or repair of the apparatus inthe base of the player. lVhen the door 22 is mounted upon the panel 18, as in the illustrative instancefof the drawings, it is desirable that this door be readily removable with the base pancl18. If, however, the door were more or less rigidly connected in any manner with the keybed or other fixed part of the'player, such connection would interfere with, or perhaps prevent, a ready removal of the base panel. To avoid anysuch diliiculty, one aspect of the present invention' comprises means for permitting` the panel 18 to be moved Yout while maintaining thecontinuity of the door operating mechanism comprising the lever 63 which is secured to a bracket on the bottom of the key-bed. The link 27 consists of two parts connected by a turn-buckle 70. This turn-buckle permits the left-hand part (in Fig. 1') of the link 67 to be rotated relatively to the right-hand Vend of the link which is pivoted at 66 to the lever 63. Also, as shown in Figs. i2 and 5, the eXtreme lefthand end of the link 67 has a vertically disposed pin 72 which passes through an eXtension'7 3 upon the bracket 68 which is secured f'to the door 22. Vith the described arrange ment, the panel 18 may be rocked clockwise in Fig. 5 upon fulcrums provided by the usual pins 75 and the base of the player may thus be open to inspection and repair, without disorganizing the train of doorclosing mechanism between the handle 39 and the door 22.

This train .of mechanism may, however, be sufliciently disorganized to permit entire withdrawal of the panel 18 and door 22 if it be desired to separate them from the instrument instead of merely swinging the panel outwardly on` the fulcrum provided by the pin 75. For this purpose the lefthand end of the link 67 may be made detachable from the bracket 68. For example, the left-hand end of the link 67 comprises coperating leaves 77, 78, one of them carrying the pin 72 which passes through the projection 73 on the bracket 68, and the other leaf 77 engages the pin 72 to hold it in engagement with the projection 73. Preferably, one or both of the leaves 77, 78, is'or are a leaf kspring or leaf springs, so as to insure a proper mutual engagement thereof with the pin 72. The leaves 77 and 78 may be secured to the remainder of the trative construction may be variously modi lied within the proper scope of the subjoined claims. It is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly, since, in some instances, they may be used separately to advantage.

I claim as my invention rl. In a musical instrument, the combination of a removable base panel having a' door-way, a door connected to said panel and removable therewith; door operating means connected to another part of the instrument; and connections between said mechanism and the door permitting removal of the base panel from its normal position while maintaining said connections. Y 2. In a musical instrument, the combination of a removable base panel having a door-way; a door connected to said panel and removable therewith; door operating means connected to another part of the instrument; and detachable connections between said mechanism and the door.

3. In a musical instrument, the combination of a removable base panel having a door-way; a door vconnected to said panel and removable therewith; door operating means connected to another part of the instrument; and detachable, resiliently engaged connections between said mechanism and said door. Y y n 4L. In a player piano the combination of a rock shaft mounted within the baseof the instrument, swinging treadles operatively connected therewith, a rock shaft mounted upon'the key bed, means operatively connectinv saidV key bed rock shaft during substantiablly half its movement to the first rock shaft, a removable base panel, a door slidably mounted upon said base panel, and means flexibly connecting said door and said key bed rock shaft to permit forward movement of the' base panel without detaching said connecting means.

5. In a musicalfnstrument the combination of a removable base panel having a door-way, a door vmounted upon said base panel and removable therewith, door operat-` ing means including a lever depending from the key bed oftheinstrument, vand means connecting said Ydoor and said lever to per mit limited forward movement of the base panel withoutdisengaging said connections.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GUY M. RUSSELL.

lVtnesses: v

C. S. ODELL, M. V. GRAVES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

